NEWSLETTER

OUR MISSION: To preserve the natural and cultural heritage of El Charco del Ingenio, and maintain a botanical garden dedicated to the conservation and study of regional flora and ecosystems, with a primary focus on environmental education.

Where profits alone count, there can be no thinking about the rhythms of nature, its phases of decay and regeneration, or the complexity of ecosystems which may be gravely upset by human intervention…. It is not enough to balance, in the medium term, the protection of nature with financial gain, or the preservation of the environment with progress. Halfway measures simply delay the inevitable disaster.Pope Francis, Papal Encyclical “Laudato Si,” June 2015

SANMIGUELENSES CHALLENGE PREDATORY DEVELOPMENT PLAN

The Municipal Urban Development Program and Ecological Zoning initiative (PMDUOET) by the current administration, which was intended to be unilaterally passed fast-track at the City Council in August without any social consensus, has been stopped by the concerted action by civil society organizations and groups of citizens and residents of San Miguel. This municipal program attempts to validate permits and illegal actions clearly harmful to the environment and sustainability of our town. Citizen mobilization has been adding their voices to achieve influence over state authorities who finally issued a series of objections to the unfortunate initiative, while suggesting to be comprehensively reviewed over the coming months. This "veto" of the state government opens the door to the participation of professionals, experts, environmentalists, institutions, civil organizations and citizens in developing the program. It is expected that the current local administration will comply with state recommendations and that they will be respected by the new municipal government starting in October.

How necessary citizen action is!

INTERNATIONAL HUMMINGBIRD FESTIVAL

September 27 – October 4

Welcome to the 3rd annual Hummingbird Festival! A week-long event in San Miguel de Allende to learn, explore, observe and celebrate hummingbirds and our other fascinating feathered companions.
This year's festival theme, Nature in the City, brings together adults, children, scientists, educators, conservationists and policy-makers to learn about our urban birds and what we can do to ensure that birds, wildlife and the human spirit continue to thrive in our urban environments.
Take a look at our schedule of events to view the variety of activities we have planned for you.
http://www.festivaldelcolibri2014.com/

“Birds make any place a chance for discovery, they make a garden seem wild, they are a little bit of wilderness coming into a city park, and for a bird watcher every walk is filled with anticipation. What feathered jewel might drop out of the sky next?” —David Sibley, Author

NGOs URGE GOVERNOR TO DECLARE PROTECTED NATURAL AREA

About twenty independent organizations in San Miguel, among them the Botanical Garden, have asked the Governor of Guanajuato, Miguel Marquez, to go ahead with the conservation project of a biological corridor, Tambula - Picachos - Presa Allende, located in the municipalities of San Miguel de Allende and Comonfort. The petition, published as an open letter in state and local media, refers to refusal and blocking from a group of local entrepreneurs, unable to see in the proposal nothing but an obstacle to their business, mainly housing developments, insensitive to the environmental and social importance of the biological corridor and the need for its protection for sustainability of San Miguel de Allende.

THE FISH IN EL CHARCO

During the twenty-four years of the Botanical Garden’s existence, we have reached a fairly extensive knowledge of the biodiversity that lives within its nearly 67 hectares. However, fish and aquatic macro-invertebrates had been a subject a little forgotten. Just over a month ago, with the help of scholars and students of the University of Queretaro, we achieved a first approximation about these interesting organisms that inhabit the natural spring and the creek of El Charco.
Among the preliminary results, we found at least four species of fish and thirteen families of macro-invertebrates in the spring; of these, three fish species are native and one has been translocated (originally from elsewhere in the country) and there also exists at least one exotic species of macroinvertebrates: the Malayan snail (Melanoides tuberculata). Particularly striking is the presence of these non-native species, which is directly related to human activity, probably by releases from private aquariums. This situation sets the alarm in the management of the aquatic ecosystem in the Garden, because we don’t know the effects that such alien species could be causing locally. We could be losing valuable elements of our environment of which we know little.
At the watershed level, El Charco is functioning as a last refuge of the three native fish species, especially the yellow minnow (hybopsis calientis), since it is sensitive to changes in habitat and has disappeared in the Rio Laja where they used to be in abundance.

"FIVE WOUNDS", SISTER OF MEXICAN MARIGOLD (Tagetes lunulata Ort.)

Among the bushes inhabits a native plant very aromatic when crushed, with the typical smell of marigold, known in Mexico as Flor de Muerto or Cempoalxochitl, as a close relative to the other plant. Its common name is “Five Wounds” (Cinco Llagas). Ancient Mexicans named a number of fragrant plants by this name, whose flowers had different shades of yellow.

It is herbaceous and grows up to 80 cm tall, with reddish stems and bright green leaves. It flowers from September to December, with five yellow petals. It has a darker orange spot at the base, from which it derives its name, symbolizing the five wounds of Christ.

It has wide ornamental and even ceremonial use. It has a bitter flavor and since pre-hispanic times has been used to counteract diseases such as diarrhea and dysentery. It is also used as an anti-inflammatory on insect and spider bites. The decoction of the flowers is used as a vitamin, mineral and amino-acid supplement.

During your hike in El Charco, this fascinating plant will appear in the walkways along the trails and even inside the canyon. It is now the season to admire the beauty and inhale the scent of this plant used and appreciated since time immemorial.

MISTLETOE PLAGUE IN THE STATE OF GUANAJUATO

In recent years and increasingly more often you can see lots of green balls with showy orange flowers in the most common trees in the region. While many may think they look colorful and showy, or even being the flowers of the same tree, few people know the big risk that this plague poses to trees and the ecosystem of the entire region. It is a parasitic species called Psittacanthus calyculatus, in the Loranthaceae family. Locally it is known as Injerto (Graft) as it inserts itself into the branches of trees and shrubs, slowly killing them. While their flowers attract different species of hummingbirds, other birds and pollinating insects, the abundance of this species has gotten out of control in central Mexico, especially in the Bajio and surrounding areas in the state of Guanajuato, representing a serious threat to the survival of many species of trees.

It has been speculated that the reason for this out of control invasion may be due to the abnormal distribution and abundance of species of birds that eat its fruit and disperse the seed. Another reason may be the reduction in the frequency of frosts cold enough to eliminate this species (which occurred during the historical frost of December 1997). The truth is that it is invading more and more multiple species of native and endemic trees, and tends to adapt to new species, representing a major ecological risk to the survival and natural distribution of many tree species. It is striking how society and authorities have taken few measures to reduce this scourge. Cutting the affected branch is usually the most effective measure. The more the control of this pest is delayed, the greater the problem in the future - unless we have some winters cold enough to mitigate this plague naturally.

THIS WAS SUMMER CAMP 2015: EDUCATING IN NATURE

SEPTEMBER ACTIVITIES

MEDICINAL PLANTS USED IN NORTHERN GUANAJUATO

Saturday, September 12th
11am in the Boveda of the Botanical Garden
Free entrance

"In every generation in any society there are special people with superior intelligence who dedicate their lives to heal others. Many of these unschooled geniuses were instructed in their youth by the elderly. When this unique intelligence is applied to the art of healing and discovery of plants, it significantly increases the body of knowledge. "

El Charco invites you to the conference by Rosita Arvigo, known researcher and promotor of ethnobotanical knowledge.

Come be enriched and share the wisdom of your garden.
Invite your friends. We await you.

CONCERT TO BENEFIT THE INTERNATIONAL HUMMINGBIRD FESTIVAL

Morgana Love/Mezzosoprano
Saturday, September 26th at 8pm in St Paul’s Church
Tickets: $200 pesos/$120 pesos
Available at Camino Silvestre (Zacateros 56 or Correo 43, Posada Corazon (Aldama 9( and the Reception of the Botanical Garden

Bird-watching Tours

Every first and third Wednesday of the month, 9 am – 11:30 am. English Cost: 100 pesos general public | 60 pesos El Charco members
Guides include Signe Hammer, Norman Besman, Luke Rich and Michael Wheatcroft.
The walks are for birders of all levels. They begin at 9:00 am and last about 2 1/2 hours. No reservations needed, and feel free to leave the walk at any time. Please bring binoculars, wear comfortable walking shoes and a hat, and bring water. Your guide will meet you after you pass through the Reception area of the Botanical Garden.

Come and bird watch with us – you’ll be surprised!!

TOURS IN SPANISH available. Saturday 10 & 24th, at 8a.m.

Info.:charcodelingeniocomunicacion@gmail.com

Guided Tours in El Charco

Tuesdays and Thursdays 10 am

Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 am| in English
Duration: two hours Cost: $80 pesos, members $50

Visit the Conservatory of Mexican Plants, the Scented Garden and the canyon, archeological ruins and much more. We recommend you wear sunscreen, and bring a hat.

Don’t forget the free transportation from town to El Charco on these days.

THE FULL MOON CEREMONY

Sunday, September 27 | 8p.m. | Plaza of 4 Winds | admission 30pesos

September’s ceremony will be special since it takes place during a total lunar eclipse, visible from El Charco. The eclipse will occur around 9:30p.m.

We invite everyone to this open celebration that has been taking place for many years during the full moon cycle at the Four Winds Plaza in the Botanical Garden under the always surprising direction of Alicia Mayo. It’s worth arriving a little early to admire the setting of the sun and the appearance of the moon over the mountains. You may want to bring a coat for cool evenings and you may bring a musical instrument.

This sweat-lodge steam bath, of ritual and healing character, takes place under the direction of an experienced temazcal leader in the ruins of the hacienda located in the Botanical Garden on the far side of the reservoir.
The combination of heat, humidity and fragrant herbs provides a purifying experience for the body and spirit. Its benefits are multiple: it activates circulation, increases the body’s defenses, eliminates pains, decreases uric acid, relaxes the muscles, regulates the nervous system, stimulates respiration and is excellent for losing weight.

We suggest bringing a flashlight for when you go from the temazal to the reception

FREE TRANSPORTATION TO THE BOTANICAL GARDEN FROM THE HISTORICAL CENTER

COMING TO EL CHARCO BY TAXI?

Some of visitors use taxis for transportation to the Botanical Garden. However, some may have doubts about how to return to town. We remind all our visitors and users that El Charco has an agreement with radio taxis company of San Miguel for safe transfer from El Charco to the center or other parts of the city. Just ask for a taxi at the reception Garden. The fee for the return trip is 60 pesos-a little more than one-way fare to Charco from the center, which should not be more than 40 pesos. We recommend you and the driver agree on the fare before boarding the taxi.

PUBLICATIONS OF THE BOTANICAL GARDEN

Throughout its existence, El Charco has published several books and pamphlets in Spanish and English, on flora and natural resources of the reserve and the region of San Miguel de Allende. To these, other publications by researchers and scientific institutions on related subjects have been added. All are issues of great interest and quality, and are on sale at the Gift Shop.